“If children don’t grow up knowing about nature and appreciating it, they will not understand it. And if they don’t understand it, they won’t protect it.
Sir David Attenborough
And if they don’t protect it, who will?“
Celebrating Nature, Protecting Nature
We believe children develop a lifelong connection with the environment when they are given opportunities to engage with nature through play, exploration, and discovery. Thats why respect for the natural world sits at the heart of everything we do at Gentle Explorers.
Natural Resources
We prioritise natural, open-ended materials that inspire creativity and imagination. We forage for items from nature like pine cones, twigs and leaves. We pick things from our garden and use peelings from our family meals.
Sustainable Choices
Where possible, we choose reusable, recyclable, and responsibly sourced resources. We choose good quality items from charity shops, car boot sales and local marketplaces and give them a new lease of life.
Reducing Waste
Many of our play materials are repurposed, recycled, composted, or reused across future sessions. We source cleaning materials from zero waste shops wherever possible and have a reusable wipe station available in our sessions to reduce wet wipe usage.
Environmental Awareness
Through seasonal play and nature-inspired experiences, children learn to appreciate the world around them in meaningful ways.
How This Looks In Practice
At Gentle Explorers you might find:
- Autumn leaves collected for sensory play
- Natural loose parts for construction and creativity
- Seasonal nature treasures incorporated into invitations to play
- Reused and repurposed materials given a new purpose
- Reusable cups and reduced single-use waste wherever possible
Nurturing Tomorrow’s Nature Lovers
By nurturing curiosity, respect, and connection with nature from an early age, we hope to help and inspire the next generation to care for and protect our planet.